After passing the law that requires women seeking an abortion to first undergo a sonogram, state Sen. Dan Patrick now is taking aim at practices involving the “month-after” abortion pill.

Under a Patrick bill moving through the Senate, Texas doctors who prescribe RU-486 to women who opt for medical rather than surgical abortion must schedule a follow-up visit within two weeks of the drug's administration and contract with another physician to treat any emergencies arising from it.

“This is a straightforward bill intended only to protect the safety of women,” said Patrick, R-Houston, denying that it is part of a strategy to restrict abortion. “If the abortion industry wants to take a shortcut with women's health, that shouldn't be acceptable, including to people who are pro-abortion.”

The bill was assailed by abortion-rights advocates and doctor groups, including the Texas Medical Association. They called it a political intrusion into the doctor-patient relationship and said it would do more harm than good.

“Essentially, this would amount to the Legislature practicing medicine without a license,” Dr. Albert Gros, representing the Texas district of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said at the hearing. “It also would be a dangerous precedent for other medical procedures. I've never heard of a cardiologist, for instance, being required to contract with a cardiovascular surgeon in case he ruptures an artery replacing a stent.”

Of the roughly 85,000 abortions performed in Texas each year, 18,000 are achieved through the administration of RU-486, according to a doctor who testified at the hearing. The drug is different from the “morning-after pill,” which is taken in the 72 hours after intercourse and disrupts fertilization.

RU-486, which works by blocking progesterone receptors and preventing implantation, was approved by the FDA in 2000 as an alternative to surgical abortion. It actually consists of two drugs given a couple of days apart to women up to seven weeks pregnant.

Patrick said his bill is motivated by lax practices that have been reported to his office. Two women he invited to provide testimony told of horrible experiences with the drug and a lack of responsiveness by abortion clinics or doctors.

“I experienced the most excruciating pain I had ever felt in my life,” said Sarah Michelle Chapa. “I curled up on the bathroom floor in tears with the clinic on the line, asking them how many painkillers I could take before I would overdose.”

Patrick said Tuesday that all he is asking for is for abortion providers to follow FDA and manufacturer guidelines — specifically, that the drugs be administered by a doctor in two separate visits and that there be a follow-up visit.

But Gros said those regulations are 13 years old and “archaic.” Clinical research since then, he said, has demonstrated better results from newer regimens, off-label uses resulting in fewer complications and a 96 percent to 99 percent success rate, compared with 92 percent under the old regimen.

A doctor whom Patrick invited to testify cited a 2009 Finnish study that found a 20 percent rate of complications with RU-486, such as hemorrhaging and incomplete abortions. He translated that into 10 adverse events a day in Texas.

Patrick said Tuesday's testimony brought out information that FDA guidelines have changed, from three doctor visits to two — the initial one and the follow-up appointment. He said his substitute bill would reflect the current FDA recommendation.